500,000th BMW GS in Berlin (2014 R 1200 GS)BMW GS Motorcycle NewsFollowing its introduction in 1980, the BMW R 80 G/S created a new niche in motorcycling – adventure touring.
The GS lineup continued through many iterations up the modern semi-water cooled R 1200 GS – the top-selling BMW motorcycle in 2013.And on Tuesday, the 500,000th GS rolled off the assembly line at BMW Motorrad’s Berlin-Spandua facility. The plant has manufactured BMW Motorrad machines for the world market since 1969, including all BMW GS models with their boxer engines.Marc Sielemann, Head of the BMW Motorrad Berlin Plant, says “as a plant it is a privilege for us to continue building on the successful history of the legendary flat-twin GS. With the precision-cooled drive unit, a new evolutionary stage was reached last year. Manufacturing half a million units underlines the fact that the boxer GS represents a cornerstone of our motorcycle production more than ever before.”500,000th BMW GS in Berlin (2014 R 1200 GS)In autumn of 1980, BMW Motorrad presented the R 80 G/S, a machine which combined the qualities for two very special fields of use: Offroad and street.What began with 798 cc of displacement and 50 bhp of output has developed into a fascinating high-tech travel enduro in the shape of the R 1200 GS with 125 base horespower and 1170 cc over a period of three decades. Furthermore state-of-the art suspension technology and electronic regulation systems such ABS, traction control or semi-active suspension have been added.This ongoing and above all consistent development of the boxer-engined BMW GS models is a major reason for their status as top-selling travel enduros worldwide.Stephan Schaller, President of BMW Motorrad, says “By combining street, off-road and everyday qualities, BMW Motorrad created the new travel enduro species with the R 80 G/S. The flat-twin GS became the synonym for this segment. The outstanding talents of the boxer-engined GS models – ride dynamics, offroad qualities, comfort and endurance – have been continuously nurtured, developed and transferred very successfully to other BMW Motorrad model series.”For a review of BMW’s modern adventure tourer, click 2014 BMW R 1200 GS Review.
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This week, in the first segment Editor Don Williams talks to us about the new Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. It’s the middleweight ADV style machine that uses the same 650 parallel twin motor as the Ninja 650, so it’s an excellent performer in a user-friendly, good looking package.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my dearest industry friends—now retired Honda PR executive, Jon Seidel. Jon’s fascinating career spans some 30 years with Big Red, and gave him some great experiences with some incredible machines. I was fortunate enough to be invited on many of the press launches that he organized. His new project is documenting and saving many of the old archives from years gone by—and incidentally, if you have anything that may be of value to the project, please contact us by email at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll pass it all on to Jon.
So on that note, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
